Cool roofs can help to delay climate change by keeping the atmosphere cooler. Akbari et al. (2009) estimate the benefits from increased reflectance of solar radiation by all urban surfaces worldwide would amount to approximately 44 gigatonnes of CO2 offset (for the lifetime of roofs). Until now, however, such projections have not been tested in an experimental setting.

Our Global Cooling in Action project, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) and Office of Science, seeks to experimentally verify the radiative benefits of reflective cool roofs.